IELTS Speaking Practice Test 15 – Topic : Advertisements that impress you most

Topic: Advertisements

Audio for IELTS Speaking Practice Test 15

Speaking Part 2

While waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up for work , I was watching advertisements on the TV in the lobby. That night I saw an advertisement that has forever stuck in my mind. It was a commercial for Nike shoes with Michael Jordan. In it he said, “I’ve missed more than nine thousand shots in my career. I’ve lost almost three hundred games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot but missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.” I couldn’t get that commercial out of my mind, not because I thought buying Nike shoes would make me as successful as Michael Jordan, but because of his unflinching determination and perseverance. Life is full of challenges and difficulties that test our level of commitment. I believe having determination divides the winners from the losers. Successful people are not ones who have never failed, but those who kept trying. As simple as this may sound, it is the one ingredient that separates the winners from the losers. The one skill that winners acquire is an understanding that growth is only possible if you have the courage to change what you have been doing, if it is not achieving the result you desire. Sometimes success is learning how to fall and recognizing that from that fall you will learn to grow. And growth is what a fulfilling life is all about.

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Speaking Part 3

The influence of advertisements

 How do advertisements attract attention?

It all depends on what group of people the advertisement is aimed for. Young people look if it’s cool, hip, or fashionable; whereas older people tend to be more practical-minded, so those in charge of advertising need to have a clear idea of who they will be targeting with their advertisement, and plan accordingly. If the advertisement is geared to the younger generation, then showing how the product can help kids be more attractive, confident, or successful is good. Catchy music also helps attract attention and helps listeners remember it. If you’re trying to reach the older generation with your advertisement, explaining how the product will give them better health, or help them relax, or be happier may appeal to them.

Do young and old people have the same attitudes towards advertisements?

Definitely not. Every individual has his own unique attitude towards advertisements and the advantages and disadvantages that advertising brings. Both old and young people are inclined to believe and think that advertisements tend to be misleading, dishonest, phony, shallow, and at times annoying, especially when they’re not well made or dorky. On the other hand, if done well, they can be very creative, humorous, artistic, and enjoyable to watch .Those, however, are the exception, rather than the norm.

 Do you think advertisements are a good or bad influence on children?

Looking at today’s children, I would have to say advertisements have predominately had a negative influence on their lives and character. Ads create a discontentment with what children have and a desire to own more and to be like everyone else. Advertisements usually tend to be unrealistic and give a false impression of how the children should be or what will happen when they buy the product.

 Do you think advertisements actually influence people to buy things? And How?

When seen a lot. advertisements make products more familiar and ingrained in people’s mind, so when they want to buy something, they will take a brand that they recognize. In China, people want to be like the West and so they buy what they see on TV that the Western people have. They think that if they have this Western product, they will be as cool as this person, which is totally bizarre to my mind.

Government Control

Does the  Chinese government control advertisements in any way?

Of course. All TV media is controlled in some way by the government, so advertisements must be as well. The government prevents advertisements from having inappropriate content or content that is not in line with government policy. That is common in every country. I’m sure that if the advertisement is within normal bounds, then the government wouldn’t have much to say about it.

 Do you think there should be controls on advertising?

Yes, I do. Some things should not be advertised, such as cigarettes, which are harmful to people’s health. Most people are aware of their existence, so they don’t need to be promoted more. Children especially should not be shown advertisements that make harmful things look cool or interesting. Advertisements that have age-inappropriate content should also be banned.

 Do you think that advertisements for products that harm the health, such as cigarettes, should be allowed?

Now you are getting into freedom of choice and whether it would be better to just prohibit something from being advertised to get people to stop using the product, but unfortunately this just doesn’t work, as prohibition in the States found out. The best thing would be for the products just to not be manufactured, but this doesn’t work either because then they would be produced illegally, becoming more dangerous.

Can you think of any example of false advertising?

The biggest example that comes to my mind is McDonald’s advertisements. Every time I go to McDonald’s, I see pictures of happy, thin people with big smiles and perfect teeth holding hamburgers and cartons of French fries that are at least three times bigger than the real products. This advertisement clearly ignores three glaring facts. For one, if you eat at McDonalds a lot, you will not look like the people in the advertisement. Two, the hamburger and French fries are nowhere near the size pictured. Three, if you stand smiling holding a burger, nobody will think you are cool.

What kinds of products are most often, most easily promoted by false advertising?

Well, most products are really promoted by false advertising. I hate to sound so cynical but I have a friend in the advertising business, and a lot of so-called experts advertising their product know absolutely nothing about it. In the field of beauty care products, this happens a lot. The poor women sitting at home with nothing to do except watch TV me are so susceptible to this kind of advertising.

Here’s another cue card for your practice!:

Describe an advertisement that influenced you to buy a product. You should say:

• What the product was
• Where you came across the advertisement, and
• How did it influence you to buy

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